A flood of Bush-bashing
Debra J. Saunders
IT IS ONLY a matter of hours now that, after any catastrophe anywhere in the world -- a tsunami, a hurricane, a terrorist bombing on the London tube -- Bush haters find ways to blame President Bush. Hurricane Katrina? Bush haters have pointed their fingers at global warming, the war on terrorism, the Bush tax cuts, the national dependence on oil -- and in every category, Bush is the root of the evil.
Forget nature. George W. Bush is more powerful.
The German environment minister and U.S. enviro Robert F. Kennedy cited global warming as a cause for the hurricane. It doesn't matter if data show, as James Glassman of TechCentralStation pointed out, the peak for major hurricanes came in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Columnist Molly Ivins criticized Bush for cutting $71 million from the New Orleans Corps of Engineers -- even though the levee that broke had just been upgraded.
Are National Guardsmen in Iraq? Yes, some 35 percent are, but more are in Louisiana, and nearby police and firefighters can pitch in.
Bush haters who want to appear less rabid than their quick counterparts wait a whole day or so. Thursday the New York Times editorial page hit Bush for delivering a bad speech about the hurricane's aftermath, for grinning while he spoke and for asking Americans to donate cash but not asking them to sacrifice.
The day before, the paper opined "this seems like the wrong moment to dwell on fault-finding, or even to point out that it took what may become the worst natural disaster in American history to pry President Bush out of his vacation."
Say what you will, but all of the above arguments are a luxury.
They aren't stranded because of politics, SUVs or climate change. They are stranded because a planet that graces us with sunshine and warmth also makes storms.
They are stranded because a powerful storm cut a swath through their universe. They thought they could handle it. They survived Camille, or some other storm, and they thought they'd be better off at home. They wanted to be near their families and their pets. They never knew it could get this bad. They had made the same choice before, and it worked for them.
This time, what worked before failed. At times like this, Americans need to help each other.
IT IS ONLY a matter of hours now that, after any catastrophe anywhere in the world -- a tsunami, a hurricane, a terrorist bombing on the London tube -- Bush haters find ways to blame President Bush. Hurricane Katrina? Bush haters have pointed their fingers at global warming, the war on terrorism, the Bush tax cuts, the national dependence on oil -- and in every category, Bush is the root of the evil.
Forget nature. George W. Bush is more powerful.
The German environment minister and U.S. enviro Robert F. Kennedy cited global warming as a cause for the hurricane. It doesn't matter if data show, as James Glassman of TechCentralStation pointed out, the peak for major hurricanes came in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Columnist Molly Ivins criticized Bush for cutting $71 million from the New Orleans Corps of Engineers -- even though the levee that broke had just been upgraded.
Are National Guardsmen in Iraq? Yes, some 35 percent are, but more are in Louisiana, and nearby police and firefighters can pitch in.
Bush haters who want to appear less rabid than their quick counterparts wait a whole day or so. Thursday the New York Times editorial page hit Bush for delivering a bad speech about the hurricane's aftermath, for grinning while he spoke and for asking Americans to donate cash but not asking them to sacrifice.
The day before, the paper opined "this seems like the wrong moment to dwell on fault-finding, or even to point out that it took what may become the worst natural disaster in American history to pry President Bush out of his vacation."
Say what you will, but all of the above arguments are a luxury.
They aren't stranded because of politics, SUVs or climate change. They are stranded because a planet that graces us with sunshine and warmth also makes storms.
They are stranded because a powerful storm cut a swath through their universe. They thought they could handle it. They survived Camille, or some other storm, and they thought they'd be better off at home. They wanted to be near their families and their pets. They never knew it could get this bad. They had made the same choice before, and it worked for them.
This time, what worked before failed. At times like this, Americans need to help each other.
posted by J.R. at
11:34:00 AM
2 Comments:
Debbie gives us a sobering look at who is really responsible for Katrina, MOTHER NATURE !
It will be interesting after all the dust settles to see what really happened at each level of responsibility (local, state, federal). I'm sickened by all the blaming. It's like a worldwind of political rangling.
I want leaders who will own up to the mistakes that happened under their realm of responsiblities, not those who frantically place blame in order to divert attention from their failures.
My heart goes out to all those who have suffered and my thanks goes to all those who are working now to help them.
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